Collectors on site for Kenya tea installation

All solar collectors are now on site for Absolicon pilot installation in Kericho, Kenya. The installation is part of a project to convert the tea industry to solar energy.

In Kenya, factories drying leaves for tea use huge amounts of eucalyptus wood grown in the immediate area to produce heat. The eucalyptus seems cheap, but when all costs are summed up, the energy cost is about € 30 / MWh. In addition, the eucalyptus plantations dry out the soil and destroy wetlands. Part of the drought disaster in the area is due to changed land use.

The project to introduce solar thermal to the industrial processes is funded by the Nordic Climate Facility (NCF) and is run together with WWF Kenya and Tealand Engineering & Construction Ltd.

1 minute video of the benefits of solar heat in tea production:

Photo: Parminder/Tealand Engineering & Construction Ltd